THE ABOLITIONIST MOVEMENTVOCABULARY:

Abolish

Abolitionist Movement

Abolitionists

INTRODUCTION TO THE ABOLITIONIST MOVEMENT

The spirit of reform that swept the United States in the early 1800s was not limited to improving education and fighting for women’s rights. It also included the efforts of abolitionists – members of the growing number of reformers who worked to abolish, or end, slavery.

Even before the American Revolution, some Americans tried to limit or end slavery. At the Constitutional Convention in 1787, the delegates had reached a compromise on the difficult issue, agreeing to let each state decide whether to allow slavery. By the early 1800s, northern states had ended slavery, but it continued in the South.

What decision did the delegates at the Constitutional Convention come to that allowed slavery to continue?

The religious revival and the reform movements of the early and mid-1800s gave new life to the antislavery movement. Many Americans came to believe that slavery was wrong. Yet not all Northerners shared this view. The conflict over slavery continued to build. Most reformers realized that the gradual approach to ending slavery had failed. Moreover, the numbers of enslaved persons had sharply increased because the cotton boom in the South made planters increasingly dependent on slave labor. Beginning in about 1830, the American antislavery movement took on new life and soon became the most pressing social issue for reformers.

What are 2 reasons why the abolitionist (antislavery) movement strengthened in the 1830s?

1) 2)

GUIDED PRACTICE

Directions: Read each of the following points of view and annotate each. Once you have finished reading, answer the questions at the bottom of the page.

POV #1: Sojourner Truth, former slave, 1851“Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed, and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! … I could work as much and eat as much as a man – when I could get it – and bear the lash as well! And ain’t I a woman?

I have borne thirteen children, and seen them most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother’s grief, none but Jesus hear me! And ain’t I a woman?”

POV #2: Jeremiah Jeter, Southern slaveholder, c. 1820“I could not free them, for the laws of the State forbade it. Yet even if they have not forbidden it, the slaves in my possession were in no condition to support themselves. It was simple cruelty to a free a mother with dependent children. Observation, too, had satisfied me that the free negroes were, in general, in a worse condition than the slaves. The manumission [setting free] of my slaves to remain in the State was not to be thought of. Should I send them to [Africa]? Some of them were in a condition to go, but none of them desired to. If sent, they [would] be forced to leave wives and children belonging to other masters [on nearby plantations], to [live] in a strange land.

QUESTIONS:1) How would the point of view of a slave owner be different than the

point of view of an abolitionist?

2) Were slave owners cruel to their slaves?

3) Why did some slave owners believe they were helping their slaves? What are your thoughts on this?

4) What were ways the abolitionists “fought” for freedom?

FAMOUS ABOLITIONISTS

Directions: With your group, read the information about the abolitionists you have been given and fill out the appropriate spot in the chart.

Frederick Douglass

Who am I?

What did I do for the movement?

William Lloyd Garrison

Who am I?

What did I do for the movement?

Harriett Beecher Stowe

Who am I?

What did I do for the movement?

John Brown

Who am I?

What did I do for the movement?

Who am I?

Nat Turner

What did I do for the movement?

Sojourner Truth

Who am I?

What did I do for the movement?

The Grimke Sisters

Who are we?

What did we do for the movement?

INDEPENDENT PRACTICE

DIRECTIONS: Analyze Primary Source 1 OR Primary Source 2 and answer the questions using your knowledge from today’s lesson. If you have time, analyze both primary sources Primary Source 1:

What emotions do you see in the image?

What is the main message of this image? Does it support or oppose the institution of slavery? How can you tell? EXPLAIN using at least 6 sentences.

What American abolitionist might have traveled overseas to speak to the British & Foreign Anti-Slavery Society? Do you believe organizations like this

would have existed without him? Why or why not?

Primary Source 2:

Slavery… has hardly any possibility of being abolished… It has been universal in the beginnings of society, and the love of dominion1 and authority over others will probably make it perpetual.2”

- Adam Smith, 1763

Does Smith believe that slavery will eventual be abolished? Why does he think this?

Given what you have just learnt about the struggles of the abolitionists and modern forms of slavery, do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why?

When was this statement made? If Adam Smith had commented on slavery 100 years later, (in 1863), how might his response to slavery be different?

EXPLAIN.

1 Dominion – dominance; power2 Perpetual – everlasting; lasting forever

NAME: ____________________________ PD: _____________ DATE: ________________

EXIT TICKET – The Abolitionist Movement

Directions: Read the description of each abolitionist carefully and choose the person who best matches that description from the word bank. The name of each abolitionist will only be used once.

WORD BANK: Harriet Beecher Stowe William Lloyd GarrisonNat Turner Sojourner Truth Frederick DouglassGrimke Sisters John Brown

DESCRIPTION ABOLITIONISTI am an American author responsible for writing Uncle Tom’s CabinI’m an American slave who led a rebellion in Virginia.I’m an abolitionist who attempted to set slaves free at Harpers Ferry.I’m an African American abolitionist who was born a slave but later taught myself how to read and write. I spent most of my time traveling around the world speaking to antislavery audiences.We are two white women who hate slavery! As soon as we gained our family’s inheritance (including slaves), we immediately freed all of them.Before I found my own newspaper, The Liberator, I worked for the country’s largest anti-slavery newspaper in Baltimore.I’m an African American abolitionist and women’s rights advocate.

SWBAT identify prominent leaders of the abolitionist movement and describe their contributions. Number Correct: _____/7

Percent Mastery: 100% 86% 71% 57% 43% 29% 14% 0%

Sojourner Truth (1797-1883)

My real name is Isabella Baumfree. I was born into slavery in New York but escaped in 1826 and become officially free in 1827. I worked for the abolition of slavery and for women’s rights and am best known for my speech, “Ain't I

a Woman?” My speeches often inspired both men and women to abolish

slavery and speak out for the victims of slavery.

Nat Turner (1800-1831)

I am a slave who taught myself how to read and write. In 1831, I led a group of slaves on a violent rampage against whites in Virginia. My followers and I killed about 60 whites before we were caught. 55 of us blacks were executed

for our part in this rebellion. The whites retaliated by killing more than

200 blacks after our executions.

Frederick Douglass (1818-1895)

I am the most widely known African American abolitionist. I was born into

slavery in Maryland, taught myself how to read and write, and escaped slavery

in 1838. I am a great speaker and traveled all over spreading my

antislavery views. I also edited an abolitionist newspaper called the North

Star and in 1847, I bought my freedom from my owner.

John Brown (1800-1859)

I am a white abolitionist and believe God chose me to end slavery. In 1859, I led a

violent rebellion called the Raid on Harpers Ferry. Nineteen men, both white

and black, including myself, raided a storage place for weapons and

ammunition. We were trying to get weapons to arm slaves but were caught.

I was convicted of treason and hung. Some abolitionists did not support my use of violence while others considered me a

hero. Nonetheless, the nation was in uproar when I was executed.

Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896)

I am a white writer and abolitionist in Massachusetts. In 1852, I wrote my most famous work about the evils of

slavery called Uncle Tom’s Cabin. It sold over 300,000 copies in the first

year. It was a best seller in the North and banned in the South. Abraham Lincoln said this to me about Uncle

Tom’s Cabin, “You wrote the book that started this great war.”

William Lloyd Garrison (1805-1879)

I am a prominent white abolitionist, journalist, and social reformer. I started

my own abolitionist newspaper in Boston in 1831 called The Liberator

and founded the American Antislavery Society in 1833. I was one of the first

white abolitionists to call for the immediate freeing of slaves.

The Grimke Sisters

We (Sarah and Angelina) are American Quakers, educators, and writers that

advocated for the abolition of slavery and women’s rights. Although our father

owned a large Southern plantation with many slaves, we traveled throughout the

North telling people about our experiences with slavery on our family’s

plantation and arguing that women should have the same rights as men. Our

father was a strong believer in slavery and practically disowned us, but we

fought for what we believed was right.

HOMEWORK: Important Reform Movement Leaders

Directions: For each of the following leaders, identify the movement each was associated with and describe what they did for that movement.

LEADER MOVEMENT WHAT DID THEY DO FOR THE MOVEMENT?

Susan B. Anthony

Frederick Douglass

Sojourner Truth

Lucretia Mott

Horace Mann

Dorothea Dix

William Lloyd Garrison

The Grimke Sisters

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Nat Turner

John Brown

MORE ON BACK Directions: Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence.

1. Which two groups of people led the temperance movement?

2. Why did these two groups lead the temperance movement?